How do I know if I have a
hearing loss?
- Do you have difficulty understanding
conversation in a group of people or in a noisy place like a restaurant
- Do you find yourself asking others to
repeat themselves?
- Does it seem to you that some people
mumble?
- Do you turn the TV up too loud for the
comfort of your family members?
- Do you have trouble understanding
whispers from those next to you, or do you have trouble understanding
voices from across the room?
- Do you have difficulty understanding
women or children?
If you answer "yes" to any of these
questions, then you likely have a hearing loss. You should
have an audiologist test your hearing.
I have been told I have
"nerve deafness" and that nothing can help me. Is this true?
Nothing could be further
from the truth. First of all, "nerve deafness" is a misnomer.
Hearing loss that occurs with increasing age or from hereditary
factors is rarely caused by a deterioration of the hearing nerve,
but is caused by damage to the tiny hair cells in the inner ear or
cochlea. The vast majority of successful hearing aid users
have been told they had "nerve deafness" at one time or another.
It's very rare that someone with hearing loss can not be helped.
If you've been told this, please seek a second opinion.
How is hearing tested? Does it hurt?
Many methods have been developed to assess hearing ability, but the
most common and the most reliable test has been the Pure Tone
Audiogram. Earphones will be placed on your ears and you will
be asked to listen for a series of beeping tones that sound rather
like notes on a piano. You will be asked to respond when you
hear these sounds by raising your hand or pushing a button.
Your audiologist will determine the softest volume that you can hear
for a variety of tones from very low to very high pitched, and the
results will be recorded on a graph called an audiogram. The
entire test is performed in a quiet environment so that your test
results may be compared to what is normal for human beings.
You will also be asked to repeat a series of one syllable words to
determine how well you understand what you hear. Sometimes
this test is repeated in the presence of background noise.
The entire evaluation takes about an hour
and there is no pain or discomfort involved. It simply requires
some concentration on your part. The test results are used to
determine your diagnosis and which, if any, hearing instruments will be
most effective in correcting your hearing loss.
Why do I
have more difficulty hearing when I am in a large group?
High-frequency
hearing loss is often related to problems hearing when in crowds.
This type of loss may not affect your ability to hear one-on-one
conversation or in small groups. In a large group, with a lot of
low-frequency background noise, your hearing effectively transmits low
pitched background sound at normal levels. Your hearing loss in
the high frequencies restricts your ability to hear speech clearly in
these situations. |
